Line-throwing gun



March 2 1926. 1,575,321

G. C. DAVISQN ET AL LINE THROWING GUN Original Filed May 14, 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 2 1926.

LINE THROWING GUN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original il May 14, 1919 6 cjnz/ nlZrg;

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Z Z 0/ p z Fatented Mar. 2, 1926.

FFKEZ- GREGORY C. DAVISON AND CECIL 1?. CAULKiNS, OF NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, AS-

SIGNORS, IBY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN ORDNANCE CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

LINE-THROWING GUN.

Application filed May 14, 1919, Serial No. 297,129. Renewed June 2, 1924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GREGORY C. DAVI- son and Grain P. CAULKINS, citizens of the United States, both residing at New London, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Line-Throwing Guns; and we do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such'as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to guns intended to throw a line from the deck of a stranded vessel to the shore, or from the shore to a stranded vessel, or from one vessel to another, for lifesaving or other salvage purposes.

With such guns neither a long range or high pressures are at all necessary, and it is especially desirable to provide a gun and ammunition therefor, the operation of which will not require any special degree of mechanical skill, or any large amount of practice; and it is also desirable to provide a cheap and efiicient gun and ammunition therefor which are not likely to get out of order, and which may be readily kept in repair, and at all times kept ready for use when desired.

Our invention will be more fully understood after reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similar reference symbols throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the complete piece, the fixed ammunition there for beingshown in dotted lines, and parts being shown broken away.

Figure 1 shows a section through the housing block for the firing pin, parts being shown in elevation and the scale being larger than in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the rear portion of the gun body showing parts of the firing mechanism carried thereby, the gun body being detached from the mount, and the parts being shown on a larger scale than in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the gun carriage showing the gun and the parts carried thereby, and the cap-square bolts removed; and

Figure & is a plan view of the gun carriage shown in Figures 1 and 3.

A represents the gun body, which is preferably made of cast steel, or iron, with a smooth bore A provided at its rear end with'a hollow hemispherical chamber a", the

rear end of the bore being closed by the housing block for the firing pin, which will be hereinafter described.

The gun body is provided with the usual trunnions A, and near its breech it is provided with two upwardly projecting lugs A for the firing mechanism, which will be hereinafter described, and also with a downwardly projecting lug AT, perforated as at a to receive the elevating lock pin which will be hereinafter described.

The gun body is mounted on a wheeled carriage which will now be described.

B represents a casting which may be made of cast steel, gun metal, or other suitable material, having a base plate B and suitable angular lugs b projecting down therefrom, and adapted to engage in the upper surface of the gun platform W, which may be the deck of a ship, the ground, or any suitable support for the gun carriage.

Projecting upwardly from this plate B and integral therewith, are thetwo brackets B which are provided at their upper ends with bearings b for the trunnions A of the gun, and with screw-threaded holes 12 adapted to engage the screw-threaded ends of the capsquare bolts C which pass through holes 0 in the cap-squares C.

The casting B is also provided with upwardly projecting ribs B which are bored, as are also the corresponding portions of the brackets B to permit the insertion of the studs D on which the wheels E are journaled. These studs are held in place by the tapered pins F.

The gun carriage normally rests on the wheels E and on the lug b, as shown in Figto prevent its loss when not in position on the mount. The holes 6 are so arranged as to give variable elevation to the gun, and in the drawings in Figure 1 we have shown them arranged to give the gun an elevation of 45, 60 or 80, as may be preferred.

To secure lightness of the parts, the side brackets may be provided with openings Z), If and b, as shown in Figure 1.

The opening in the breech of the gun is closed by the housing block H, which is screw-threaded at its forward end, as at h,

to engage in the corresponding screw threads on the gun body, and is chambered to receive the firing pi'n K, and the withdrawal spring I for the firing pin. The forward end of the firing pin passes through the annular nut 72, which is screwed into the forward end" of the housing block, and serves not only to. close the forward 'end of' the firing pin chamber, but also serves as'an abutment for the withdrawal spring I.

L'in which. ismade fast to the hammer M,

The lugsA are perforted as at M, and

form therewith bearings for the hammerbolt in any convenient way, as by means of the pin'N. The hammer M has a hollow arm,

. weighted as. at m, and provided with the finger hole for convenience in cooking the hammer.

The hammer is also provided with a notch m to engage the loop p of the hammer spring P, whichspri'ng is coiledas at 39 around thehammer bolt L, and has its ends 79 engaging the corresponding abutments in.

The short arm n of the hammer, when in the cooked position, engages the lower face of the toe g of the sear piece Q, which sear piece is made fast to the sear bolt R in any convenient way, as by means of the pin. N. This sear bolt passes through bearings a in the lugs A The arm 9" of the sear piece Q is normally pressed downwards by the sear springs S, which is generally similar to the-hammer spring P already described, but may be made less powerful if desired.

The loop 8 of. this sear springengages the notch Q Of the sear Q, and the. coils s" of the sear spring are wound around" the sear bolt R, and the ends 8 of'the sear spring I engage suitable abutments on the lugs A The. travel of the toe 27 of the sear Q; is;

limited by the 'sear stop pin U.

The arm QOf the sear Q, is providedwith which may be done by swinging the gun a hole g in which engages the hook t of the firing lanyard T, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

The gun is especially designed for use with fixed ammunition of the type shown in our application filed of even date herewith serially numbered 297,130, and entitled Im rovements inrfixedi ammunition for use wit line throwing guns, which ammunition is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and 7 comprises a projectile X, and a cartridge case Y containing the propelling charge having a primer y adapted to be struck by the firing pin K. I The other end of the pro jectile is provided with an eye w' to which the line Z is attached. I

The. operation of the device is as follows j I The piece is set at the desired elevation,

about its trunnions and inserting the elevating lock pin G in the corresponding holes b saidpin, of course, passing through the hole a in the high pro e'cting downwardly from the gun body. Now cook the piece by inserting one of the fingers in the finger hole m, and pullingthe hammer to the rear until it occupies the position shown in full lines in Figure 1. I The rearwardmovement of the hammerwill cause the arm m of the hammer piece 'to press down the toe g. of the sear Q, against the action of the sear spring, and when said arm m clears the toe g the sear will snap back into-the position show'n in Figure 1; 1

and if the hammer be released the piece will be in the cooked position, and it will be imthe stop pin U, or pulling on the arm g of I the sear Q. i

Of coursefthe lanyard would not be applied until the moment of firing, so that there would be no likelihood ofaccid'ent. fromthe premature pulling on the lanyard.

possible to fire same without either breakin'g I The piece being I cooked, the retracting spring I will withdraw the point offthe firingvpin into the concave chamber a at the "base'of the bore A", Now, if the fixed am munition is loaded into the gumthe car-' tridge case Y cannotbe forcedf down far enough to strike the firing pin beingstop'ped" by the concave walls of the chamber a and the firing pin will be held by said spring I clear of the primery. The piece willi'now be cocked-and ready for firing. 3 I

To fire the gun, insert the hook t of the lanyard T into the eye Q of the arm 9 of the seanQ, and pull rearward, on the lan- I yard. The toe Q of the sear will press down the arm m of the hammer piece M, 1 when the'toe'clears said arm, the hammer will be free to fly forward under the pressure of the hammer spring, and the weightf- :ed' arm m will strike the rear end offthe firing pin K, forcing said in rbrw-ara' against the action of thespring I and causing the point of the firing pin to strike the primer 3 and explode the propelling charge in the cartridge case Y.

When the gun is fired, the projectile X will travel along the bore, unwinding the line Z from the reel, not shown. As the projectile continues its flight through the air, therearward pull of the line Z will cause the'projectile to tumble or turn through 180, and then the projectile will follow its trajectory with its eye m to the rear, and the weighted end foremost; at the same time dragging out the line Z, which line will serve to retain the eye as in the rearward position, and will tend in a measure to guide or steer the projectile in its flight.

As these guns are intended to be fired at a high elevation, the downward thrust would ordinarily equal or exceed the horizontal pressure of the recoil, and this downward pressure will cause the lugs b to bite into the gun platform and prevent the carriage from recoiling through any lateral distance. The piece may be brought to the original firing position relative to the gun platform by pressing down on the gun body, tilting the rear end of the carriage clear of the gun platform, and rolling the piece forward on the wheels E.

In the same way, the gun may be trained through any desired angle by pressing down on the gun body, and lifting the lugs 6 clear of the gun platform, and then swinging the axis of the bore to the right or left, as desired.

In a similar way, the gun may be transported from place to place by tilting up the rear end of the base plate B and running the carriage around on its wheels E.

With guns of this character no high initial velocity is desired, and the gun may be made of cheap cast metal, and the body of the carriage also may be made of cast metal; but if desired the brackets B may be secured to the base plate B and suitably braced thereon, instead of being cast integral therewith, if desired, but we prefer to have the brackets and the base plate formed of an integral casting.

With the construction herein described, very little machining or finishing is required, and practically none of the expensive work ordinarily experienced in fitting breech mechanisms to guns is needed.

Thus it will be seen that we provide a cheap, simple and etficient device for use for the purposes described, which does not require any special skill to operate, which is not liable to get out of order, or to need repair, and which may be kept in serviceable shape with very little attention.

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing from the spirit of our invention, and we do not mean to limit the invention to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. A line throwing gun comprising a gun body having a smooth bore, with a concave chamber at the rear end thereof, too narrow to permit the entrance thereinto of the base of the cartridge case, a firing pin having its firing point normally projecting part of the way into said concave chamber and having its base projecting rearwardly through the walls of the piece, a retraction spring normally pressing said firing pin backwards, a spring impressed hammer pivoted to the gun body and adapted to strike said firing pin and throw it forward against the action of said retraction spring, and means for cocking said hammer and for releasing same when desired, substantially as described.

2. A line throwing gun comprising a gun body having a smooth bore, with a concave chamber at the rear end thereof, too narrow to permit the entrance thereinto of the base of the cartridge case, a firing pin having its firing point normally projecting part of the way into said concave chamber and having its base projecting rearwardly through the walls of the piece, a retraction spring normally pressing said firing pin backwards, a spring impressed hammer pivoted to the gun body and adapted to strike said firing pin and throw it forward against the action of said retraction spring, the said hammer being provided with a short cocking arm, a spring impressed sear having a toe engaging said cocking arm, and a lever arm for tripping same, substantially as described.

3. A line throwing gun comprising a gun body having a smooth bore, with a concave chamber at the rear end thereof, too narrow to 'permit the entrance thereinto of the base of the cartridge case, a firing pin having its firing point normally projecting part of the way into said concave chamber and having its base projecting rearwardly through the walls of the piece, a retraction spring normally pressing said firing pin backwards, a hammer pivoted to the gun body, a loop spring normally pressing on said hammer tending to cause it to strike said firing pin and throw it forward against the action of said retraction spring, and a spring impressed sear for cocking said hammer and for releasing same when desired, substantially as desired.

4. A line throwing gun comprising a gun body having a smooth bore, with a concave chamber at the rear end thereof, too narrow to permit the entrance thereinto of the base of the cartridge case, a firing pin having the walls of the piece; a; rebractiolrspring normally pressing said firing pin backwards,

a hammer pivoted to the gun b0'd y,w 100p springnormal ly pressing on said hammer tending to cause it to strike said. firi'ng'pin and throw it forward-against the action of said retraction spring, the said hammer being provided with awshort' cocking'ml m, and a spring impressed sear having a toe engaging said-cocking arm yand': a lever arm for tripping: said: sear;suhstahtia11ya;s de= scribed-. q -S. 1.. r

5. In ordnance',-the combinationof argun barrel having a firing pin monntedfor r e* ciprocali movement inkm opening at the breech thereon. said pin-having a, pointed forward: end and means on said pin rear- 20 wardly' o f said pointed forward end. and sea-ted m a direction opposite the direction of firing' movemen't of said pin for normally sealing the opening-inwhich the pin moves.

. GREGCDRY 0. DAVISONW GEOILLVP, GAULKINS; 

